Press Release Date: April 28, 1998
Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., today joined the Agency for Health Care
Policy and Research (AHCPR) and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
(ODPHP) in urging clinicians, health plans and consumers to work together to make prevention—screening, immunizations and counseling for health behavior change—a part of every health care
visit, in every clinical setting.
Dr. Satcher said materials available from the Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)
initiative make it easier for systems of care, clinicians and their office staffs to deliver
recommended prevention services and to perform them properly (select to access About PPIP). The PPIP consumer materials
help patients ask about and keep track of their preventive health care.
"Research shows that prevention can help people stay healthier and live longer," said Dr.
Satcher, "but we also know that for various reasons—such as confusion due to conflicting
recommendations and lack of time—clinicians do not provide all the clinical preventive services
their patients need. Moreover, patients continue to ask for preventive services that have been
found to be ineffective or to have unproven benefits."
AHCPR Administrator John M. Eisenberg, M.D., said, "Health care research has proven
that improving the delivery of clinical preventive care has the potential to make significant
improvements in the quality of health care in our Nation. There are too many gaps between the
prevention knowledge and tools that scientific advances have given us and the preventive care
that Americans actually receive. PPIP is the engine that can move evidence-based findings about
prevention, such as those developed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, into the settings
where patients receive their health care." AHCPR is the new home for PPIP, which originated
with ODPHP and was first released in 1994.
According to Dr. Eisenberg, research clearly shows the need for improvements in the
provision of preventive care. In 1997 the National Committee for Quality Assurance released a
report showing a wide range of performance by health maintenance organizations and other
managed care plans nationwide in the delivery of preventive services and other health care. For
example, the report shows that in 1996, 81 percent of New England children under age two in
managed care plans received appropriate immunizations, but in the Mountain region the rate was
only 59 percent. Plans in the Mid-Atlantic region reported mammography screening ranging
from 30 percent to 80 percent. Also, patients in some plans received advice to quit smoking as
infrequently as 30 percent of the time, and in other plans as often as 85 percent of the time.
Dr. Eisenberg cited recent AHCPR-supported research showing just how effective
prevention can be. In a study published in the December 3, 1997, Journal of the American
Medical Association, researchers concluded that if doctors advised each of their patients who
smoked to quit, an additional 1.7 million people would quit smoking each year.
The PPIP materials were developed by ODPHP and evaluated with the cooperation of
numerous public and private institutions, including the 31 members of the National Coordinating
Committee on Clinical Preventive Services, federal liaisons to the Committee, other federal
agency experts and many other contributors from academic institutions, State departments of
health, professional groups and voluntary organizations.
The Clinician's Handbook of Preventive Services, 2nd Edition, includes summaries of
recommendations on screening tests, immunizations and counseling for children/adolescents and
adults/older adults by major authorities, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force,
federal health agencies, national professional organizations, national voluntary health
organizations and the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination. Instructions for
performing the services are included, along with other information to help implement prevention
in health care settings.
The pocket-size Personal Health Guide for adults and the Child Health Guide include
easy-to-use record forms to prompt patients to receive and keep track of timely care.
Office materials include preventive care flow sheets, patient reminder postcards, a
waiting room poster and preventive care timeline posters.
Print copies of the Personal Health Guide and Child Health Guide are available, free of charge, through
the AHCPR Publications Clearinghouse. Contact the Clearinghouse for ordering information for
the Clinician's Handbook of Preventive Services, 2nd Edition, and the posters. The
Clearinghouse may be reached by calling 800-358-9295 or writing to AHCPR Publications
Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907.
Most PPIP materials are available from the AHCPR Web site, and the Clinician's Handbook, 2nd edition, will be coming to it. Select to access:
Note to Editors: For interviews with Dr. Satcher, call Damon Thompson at (202) 205-1842. For interviews with Dr. Eisenberg, call Karen Migdail at (301) 427-1855 (KMigdail@ahrq.gov).
For additional information, please contact AHCPR Press Office: Salina Prasad, (301) 427-1864 (SPrasad@ahrq.gov).
Internet Citation:
Surgeon General Urges Nation to "Put Prevention into Practice." Press release, April 28, 1998. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, MD.
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/ppippr.htm
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